The NFL season kicks off on Thursday, which means the prognostication engine is fully fueled and running. If offseason personnel moves and preseason dress rehearsals are any indication, the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks are well on their way to a rematch in 2015.

But any football fan knows it rarely works out that way. The Colts, Patriots, Packers, 49ers and even the Bears also have been tabbed this summer as fashionable picks to reach the Super Bowl. But with the preseason now in the books, some experts have taken a dim view on several contenders--particularly the Bears.

On the eve of the league's kickoff game between the Seahawks and Green Bay Packers, we scoured the Web for Bears and NFL predictions.

Bears: 11-5 (fifth seed in the playoffs; loses to Seattle in the divisional round)

Super Bowl: Seahawks over Colts

"If (the Bears) defense was slightly better in 2013, this is a playoff team — and D seems signficantly better now." READ MORE

Athlon Sports

Bears: 2nd in NFC North (makes the playoffs)

"If the remaking of the defense comes close to matching the success that similar efforts had on the offense last year, the Bears will be back in the playoffs for the first time since 2010 and just the second time in eight years." READ MORE

Cian Fahey, PreSnapReads.com

Bears: 12-4 (1st in NFC North)

Super Bowl: Seahawks over Broncos

On the Bears: "No other team in the league can boast that they have two dominant receivers, a top 10 tight end, a top 10 running back, a top 10 quarterback, a top 10 offensive line and a highly regarded offensive-minded head coach." READ MORE